Baldur’s Gate 3 features many different classes, and each of them ticks off various aspects that your party will need to cover to be an effective group. If you are not covering a wide range of skills, as well as what roles each character will play in combat, there will be many points in the game you will find yourself doing things the hard way.

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The Paladin class covers an extremely broad range of uses and can serve as the backbone of your party. An optimized Paladin can even bring the total number of other party members needed down to 2 — meaning your final addition can solely be for enjoying an Origin companion's story.

Best Paladin Ability Distribution

Your primary Abilities will be the stats you want to be higher than anything else, with dump stats being completely useless to you. This is because you will have other members of your party that can handle such tasks, and the points are better spent optimizing where you shine. You are not going to be sneaking around or reading through books, so dump Intelligence and Dexterity. Charisma is your main means of casting spells and will also be a large aspect of the skills you roll, and Strength will be how hard you bring your sword down on your foes. Dexterity and Wisdom might come up when you dodge a trap or need to shake off something trying to get into your mind, but another character should be the one taking point in dungeons to disarm traps and be on the lookout for hidden passageways with perception checks.

• Primary Abilities (Max these out): Charisma and Strength
• Secondary Abilities: Constitution and Wisdom
• Dump Abilities (Ignore These): Intelligence and Dexterity

Best Race For The Paladin

Zariel Tiefling is the optimal race to go with. Firstly, the racial bonuses you will be receiving include a +2 to Charisma and a +1 to Strength. Along with these increases to your Abilities, you will get Thaumaturgy, a cantrip that lasts 10 turns that will give you an Advantage when you make checks for Intimidation and Performance, both being skills that make use of your Charisma. Once per long rest, you will be able to cast Searing Smite starting at level 3 and Legacy of Avernus: Branding Smite from level 5. All of this will just synergize with every aspect of being a Paladin, but that is not all. You will also take half damage from all fire damage and have Darkvision. No other race offers this much level of synergy for the Paladin.

Alternative Race Option

You’d think Dwarves would be on this list, but the Paladin doesn’t get as much from being a Dwarf as they do from being a Drow Half-Elf. By being a Drow Half-Elf, the Paladin will be getting a solid +2 bonus to their Charisma Ability, and they will also get 2 more points to assign to any other Abilities of their choosing. Just like the Tiefling, they will also get the much sought-after Darkvision, but instead of the fire resistance, they will have an Advantage against being charmed, and they cannot be put to sleep by magic. Going the Dwarf route hinders optimization by having to take more Ability Improvements to get Charisma up to 20, while going Tiefling or Drow Half-Elf allows you to take a powerful feat at level 12.

Best Skills & Background For The Paladin

You will only be able to take 2 skills for your Paladin, so your Background needs to flesh that out and help you have the most useful skills by the end of creation. The Soldier Background to get Athletics and Intimidation is a solid option — this allows you still take Persuasion and leave you with 1 proficiency left over. However, the best option would be to go with Soldier. This will give you Athletics and Intimidation and allow you to use both of your remaining choices to take Persuasion and Insight. Insight may be a Wisdom skill, but it will help you detect if someone you are speaking with might be lying to you.

Alternative Background Options

Other backgrounds that are useful for a Paladin would be Guild Artisan/Noble for Persuasion or Outlander for Athletics.

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Best Subclass For The Paladin

You will want to go with Oath of Devotion as your subclass pick. Oath of Devotion will improve everything associated with being a paladin. You cannot be everywhere at once; whether it is another ally on the frontline or one in the far back, there are times they will be in danger. Oath of Devotion will give you access to Holy Rebuke. This will give your ally an aura that will deal 1d4 Radiant damage to anything that hits them, allowing for some instantaneous and unavoidable extra damage on that enemy’s turn. Each Subclass will offer a different arrangement of spells you can cast, and this is the nail in the coffin for the other Subclass option. Oath of Devotion lets you choose to ramp up your offense with Sacred Weapon, hunker down with incredible defense from Sanctuary (as well as Protection from Evil and Good), and when you face a large hoard of undead, you can send them all running in fear with Turn the Unholy.

What Do The Other Sub-classes Offer?

Oathbreaker benefits more for combat situations, but it doesn’t offer much utility outside of it. Oath Of The Ancients will give you some nice spells, such as Speak with Animals, but you will drop in the combat department. Oath of Devotion’s spells will see more usage throughout the entirety of the game.

Best Feats For The Paladin

First and foremost, take Ability Improvement to get your Charisma up to 20. This will maximize your Charisma skill checks and how potent you are as a spell caster. To achieve this, take the Ability Improvement at level 4, and take it again at level 8. Once Charisma is at 20, take the feat Great Weapons Master at level 12. This will let you use a bonus action to perform another melee attack with increased damage whenever you score a critical hit or kill a creature. Extra hits are overall amazing in the game. The Great Weapon Master feat does incur a penalty of -5 on your attack roll, but it gives an extra 10 to your damage roll.

Avoid Multiclassing. Sorcerer, Warlock, and Bard are all ideal synergies for this class since they all cast spells using Charisma. This provides a slew of new low-level spells for different situations and makes you a lot more versatile. However, taking even one level of them will prevent you from getting both Ability Improvements and the Great Weapons Master feat at level 12. The Paladin does its best work on the frontline and does not need any of these classes. With that said, you might personally have more fun throughout the majority of the game by dipping into one of these early on, rather than waiting until the very last level to improve in one area.

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Best Spells For The Paladin

As a prepared caster, you will be selecting which spells to make use of on your journey. You will be able to prepare 4 spells once you are at level 2. Choose Compelled Duel and Divine Favor — these will let you keep attention on yourself to protect any ally that needs it and get some extra damage on your strikes. You will be able to change what spells you prepare, so try out using other spells for the remaining options and see what you like. This is a game, and you should have fun seeing what each spell does and get a feel for when you need to swap them out.

Best Party Composition For The Paladin

A Paladin will cover a lot of grounds in your party; what you need to look at is what situations might come up that you would want someone else to handle.

Right off the bat, you’re going to want someone to detect all the hidden things going on around the game. This means a character that makes Wisdom their primary Ability. A Paladin is close to a Cleric, so you might want to consider a Druid instead. The Circle of the Moon Druid will gain the ability to wild shape into a bear and help provide a lot of damage in combat, and having Wisdom as their highest Ability helps with Perception checks. If the Paladin is badly wounded, they can revert from their wild shape to their original form and serve as a secondary healer.

You will also want someone to scout ahead and disarm traps; this screams Rogue. Your Rogue will be a key player in stealth situations, and with their expertise, they will get massive increases to their skill rolls.

Lastly, you want a Wizard with as high Intelligence as possible. This Wizard will also be your bookworm in handling Intelligence skill checks.

Paladin In Combat

With your proficiency in heavy armor, you will always want to be standing between your allies and those that wish them harm. You will also have access to Lay Hands for some extra healing and Divine Sense to have an Advantage when facing any celestials, fiends, or undead. This makes you extremely adept at taking on some very fearsome foes on your journey.

For your fighting style, take Dueling. This gives you a +2 to your damage rolls because you have a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. You want the Paladin to be a damage dealer that puts the enemies' attention on themselves and can heal up any allies that take too much of a beating.

At the start of an encounter, you will want to cast Divine Favor if you are level 2 (or Sacred Weapon at level 3) on your weapon for the extra damage and use Compelled Duel on the most dangerous foe to keep your allies safe. Don't burn through all your spells early; keep some stuff ready if things go south and someone needs your aid. Your subclass lets you live to fight another day if things ever go south. You can make undead flee, keeping those enemies from targeting allies, and you can give allies an aura that deals damage to an enemy that is pressuring them.

Paladin Outside Of Combat

Your party members will also have valuable roles to play when there is nothing threatening their lives. The Paladin is very well suited for being the one doing all the talking, thanks to their incredibly high Charisma skill checks.

Oath Of Devotion Leveling Choices

There are a lot of features and spells you will get, however, these are the choices you will need to be mindful of. The rest will either have no flexibility in choosing how they work or will allow you to reorganize them as you wish. The game will constantly change throughout the story, and you should practice with the full range of your arsenal and spells for when you feel the need to change up.

• Race: This is the race you should choose at character creation.
• Background: This is the Background you should choose for character creation.
• Skills: These are the skills you should choose for character creation to cover what your Background does not.
• Oath: This is the Subclass you should choose when given the option to pick one.
• Spells: You can find a guide for spells above, but be mindful. Spells tend to be more useful in different situations, so practicing and understanding when to use the right spells is much better than sticking with a list of the best options in the wrong situation. Lesser Restoration and Remove Curse will be brilliant for shaking off anything that gnaws at you. Not tending to them can greatly increase your odds of failure throughout your existence.
• Fighting Style: You will have several options here, each offering different benefits. A Paladin excels at having a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, making Duelist the best option for this build.
• Haste Helm: When combat starts, you will have 3 turns of Momentum to help you close the gap on your targets. You can find this item in a chest at Blighted Village. Which you will need to lockpick.
• Linebreaker Boots: Whenever you Dash, as you will get in the faces of your enemies, you will gain Wrath for 3 turns. This serves as Loot obtained from Beastmaster Zurk
• Crusher's Ring: You can get this ring from Novice Crusher in the goblin village; how you choose to do that is up to you. This ring gives you +3 to your movement.
• Absolution's Talisman: This strait up makes you a vampire paladin. When your health is below 25%, hitting targets lets you heal 1d8. This can be looted from True Soul Guts.
• Boots of Striding: While not as good as Linebreaker Boots, these may be more preferred by a lot of players, hence their inclusion on this list. They will grant you Momentum while you are concentrating on any of your spells. This can help you move significantly around the map by choosing when to concentrate, even when the spell might not be the best choice. This serves as Loot obtained from Minthara.
• Feat: Take the corresponding feat for each of the corresponding levels.
• The Adamantine Forge: This quest will reward you with a great weapon for your travels, the Adamantine Longword.

Oath Of Ancients Leveling Choices

The Oath of Ancients is one not of modern teachings or constructs of man but rather the forces of nature themselves. This will give you a lot more control options over the field while still having the paladin's playstyle in a group.

• Race: This is the race you should choose at character creation.
• Background: This is the Background you should choose for character creation.
• Skills: These are the skills you should choose for character creation to cover what your Background does not.
• Oath: This is the Subclass you should choose when given the option to pick one.
• Spells: You will see a lot of spells with Smite in their name. These spells all cover various situations, and practicing each will greatly improve your understanding of combat and when to use each of them.
• Fighting Style: You will have several options here, each offering different benefits. A Paladin excels at having a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, making Duelist the best option for this build.
• Haste Helm: When combat starts, you will have 3 turns of Momentum to help you close the gap on your targets. You can find this item in a chest at Blighted Village. Which you will need to lockpick.
• Linebreaker Boots: Whenever you Dash, as you will get in the faces of your enemies, you will gain Wrath for 3 turns. This serves as Loot obtained from Beastmaster Zurk
• Crusher's Ring: You can get this ring from Novice Crusher in the goblin village; how you choose to do that is up to you. This ring gives you +3 to your movement.
• Absolution's Talisman: This strait up makes you a vampire paladin. When your health is below 25%, hitting targets lets you heal 1d8. This can be looted from True Soul Guts.
• Boots of Striding: While not as good as Linebreaker Boots, these may be more preferred by a lot of players, hence their inclusion on this list. They will grant you Momentum while you are concentrating on any of your spells. This can help you move significantly around the map by choosing when to concentrate, even when the spell might not be the best choice. This serves as Loot obtained from Minthara.
• Feat: Take the corresponding feat for each of the corresponding levels. Great Weapon Master should be your first pick for this subclass due to the spells it has prepared.
• The Adamantine Forge: This quest will reward you with a great weapon for your travels, the Adamantine Longword.

Oath Of Ancients Leveling Choices

The Oath of Vengeance is a rather simple Oath choice. You get spells for the Oath to build your playstyle around. You place a mark on your target, and then you hit that target with everything you have. Rinse and repeat until nothing in the area is left alive. You can save your Oath Charges for healing allies and have some utility spells if the need arises. However, your bread and butter will be to continuously mark the easiest enemy to kill each time. This is a good way to constantly trigger Inspiration from your Soldier Background.

• Race: This is the race you should choose at character creation.
• Background: This is the Background you should choose for character creation.
• Skills: These are the skills you should choose for character creation to cover what your Background does not.
• Oath: This is the Subclass you should choose when given the option to pick one.
• Spells: You will get Bane and Hunter's Mark from your Oath. Place Hunter's Mark on your quarry and be relentless. Let these spells govern how you should play an Oath of Vengeance Paladin. Your other spells are just there for circumstances, such as Revivify for fallen allies and Protection from Evil and Good. You can use your charges for Lay on Hands to restore health when needed, which keeps Cleric spell slots free for other situations.
• Fighting Style: You will have several options here, each offering different benefits. A Paladin excels at having a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, making Duelist the best option for this build.
• Haste Helm: When combat starts, you will have 3 turns of Momentum to help you close the gap on your targets. You can find this item in a chest at Blighted Village. Which you will need to lockpick.
• Linebreaker Boots: Whenever you Dash to get in the faces of your enemies, you will gain Wrath for 3 turns. This serves as Loot obtained from Beastmaster Zurk
• Crusher's Ring: You can get this ring from Novice Crusher in the goblin village; how you choose to do that is up to you. This ring gives you +3 to your movement.
• Absolution's Talisman: This strait up makes you a vampire paladin. When your health is below 25%, hitting targets lets you heal 1d8. This can be looted from True Soul Guts.
• Boots of Striding: While not as good as Linebreaker Boots, these may be more preferred by a lot of players, hence their inclusion on this list. They will grant you Momentum while you are concentrating on any of your spells. This can help you move significantly around the map by choosing when to concentrate, even when the spell might not be the best choice. This serves as Loot obtained from Minthara.
• Feat: Take the corresponding feat for each of the corresponding levels. Great Weapon Master should be your first pick for this subclass due to the spells it has prepared.
• The Adamantine Forge: This quest will reward you with a great weapon for your travels, the Adamantine Longword.
• Killer's Sweetheart: You will get this inside the Gountylet of Shar's ancient temple. With this ring, you will be able to make your next attack a guaranteed critical hit. It can only be used once per long rest, but its effect can be easily triggered. You just need to kill something. So pick off the weakest enemy in the fight, then turn your attention to the meanest one for that critical. This synergizes will with the Oath of Vengeance playstyle.

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